I know it sounds weird to say this about myself.

But frankly, I believe I’m beautiful, and I’m aware of that fact.

Innate beauty doesn’t lie.

Since I was little, everyone around me took it for granted to praise me, so I never questioned my own attractiveness.

My parents and relatives always praised me as a cute and pretty child.

Most kids probably get knocked out of the paradise of parental pampering and favoritism sometime around kindergarten or early grade school… but in my case, I was genuinely cute enough that people didn’t even have to pretend.

Therefore, in kindergarten and elementary school, I continued to be fawned over by those around me and never got kicked out of that paradise of favoritism.

I received a lot of offers and confessions.

I’ve lost count of how many times.

For me, being offered or confessed to is something that happens as a matter of course; there’s no special feeling about it.

But I’m afraid to reject them.

They might throw a tantrum, yell at me, or, worst of all, assault me.

I can’t help but be scared of that.

And the scary thing isn’t just that.

Those pathetic women who weren’t blessed with looks like mine.

They envy and resent me.

Their boyfriends were taken from them.

Their beloveds were stolen from them.

I liked him first!

Bitch!

Man-stealer!

At first, I cried; I didn’t do anything wrong!

I haven’t done anything wrong!!

Why are you blaming me?

They’re the ones who came after me, and then they get angry like it’s my fault!

But eventually, I started to think it was ridiculous.

Why should I suffer because of these people?!

I don’t have to give a damn about idiots who bark selfishly and act like everything revolves around them!

I should just live the way I want to. Once I reconciled myself with that, things started going well. In fact, everyone around me began to accommodate me.

What? Was this all it took?

After that, I put more thought into how to make things go even smoother. Since I don’t have any particular hobbies, mastering those around me and leading men on by the nose became my one and only hobby.

Men are all eager to please me, looking up at me with admiration, while women envy me but hide it and try to fawn over me.

Everything goes exactly as I want; everyone obeys me.

I play the role of a pure, well-behaved, and serious girl… that’s just how I act because it’s more popular and easier to deceive people. And, it’s hard to blame someone who seems pure and earnest. The girls also find it harder to attack me.

Just having black hair and wearing my uniform neatly was all it took for me to perfectly act the part of a serious, sincere girl.

No one ever suspects anything.

But deep down, I was afraid.

If I ever slipped up… if anyone ever found out what I was really like…

Just thinking about that terrified me.

I was scared that everyone in class might gang up on me again like before… that they might all come after me.

And then, at that time… I met someone.

That someone was Majima Takuma-kun.

At first glance, he’s just an ordinary boy you’d see anywhere. He has no outstanding qualities; he seems boring and unremarkable.

But there was one thing that set him apart from other boys.

He doesn’t fawn over me. He doesn’t try to win me over, nor does he join my group. He isn’t interested in me at all.

That had never happened before… I thought there wasn’t a single boy who wouldn’t be interested in me… he was exactly the kind of boy I thought didn’t exist.

Of course, there are boys who aren’t part of my group. But it’s not that they don’t want to join—they just can’t.

There are plenty of boys who pretend not to be interested in me.

But that’s just a pretense; if I say even one word to them, their eyes change and they eagerly start talking to me.

They’re boring.

There’s a concept called the class caste.

A school is a miniature version of society, and just like society, a vertical hierarchy naturally forms.

Status, position, social standing—those who have them rise to the top, and those who don’t get looked down on.

That exists in school too.

The group I built using my own beauty and influence sits at the very top of the class caste.

It’s a safe zone that every classmate wants to be a part of without exception.

The only people who don’t belong there are the weak ones who want to join but can’t.

Those with power never accept the weak.

That’s why everyone tries to join my group—so they can secure a place among the strong.

I think that’s a pretty accurate interpretation, though nuances may vary from person to person.

Taku-chan doesn’t show any interest in that class hierarchy.

Even when I try to invite him to join my group, he politely declines.

At first, I thought he just disliked being surrounded by energetic people, but I realized it’s more than that recently.

Taku-chan isn’t interested in hierarchies.

Taku-chan isn’t interested in my influence.

Taku-chan isn’t interested in my beauty.

When I first saw him, I was so irritated I actually thought, “What the hell is this guy’s problem?”

All the common sense I’d built up until then didn’t apply to him whatsoever.

He struck me as someone who lived in a world completely separate from everyone else.

Little by little, I found myself growing interested in Taku-chan.

I even surprised myself when I realized how often I’d started watching him without thinking.

Eventually, I couldn’t stand it anymore and wanted to confess my feelings to him.

And surprisingly, when I actually did, he became my boyfriend without much resistance.

He’s a boy after all; even if he wasn’t interested in me, he seemed to be interested in my… female body.

Sometimes I catch his eyes drifting toward my chest or my thighs, so I’m sure of it.

It honestly relieved me a little.

I was seriously worried about what I’d do if he didn’t show interest in even that.

And as we started dating, I laid down three conditions for him.

① You must accept that Sado Kengo-kun will be my public “main boyfriend,” and that he will serve as my fake boyfriend.

② You must keep our relationship a secret and not interact with me unnecessarily at school.

③ Once we start dating, we will have home dates at either your house or mine at least four times a week.

① and ② serve the same purpose. 

I have a role as the top of the class hierarchy; if that’s shaken, the character of Fuyunagi Shizuku—a pure, lovely, and earnest beautiful girl—will collapse. 

That would just take me back to where I was before. 

That may not happen.

The ideal beautiful girl adored by everyone should have a boyfriend who matches that image. Someone like Taku-chan, with his plain looks, is nowhere near enough for the role.

That’s why I chose Sado-kun to act as my fake boyfriend.

Conveniently, he was completely devoted to me, and even after rejecting him several times, he still kept coming back… so I figured he’d do just fine.

As for ③, that one was simple—I just wanted to cling to Taku-chan.

After dating him, I found that he was an even better catch than I thought.

He didn’t demand too much from me.

Maybe it was the timidness that comes with being a virgin, perhaps he was just naturally reserved, but under normal circumstances, a guy would try to push things toward a physical relationship pretty quickly. Yet he never made a move on his own.

However, I can feel his gaze on my chest or hips, so I know he’s interested in me as a girl.

But that perfect balance—being aware of me as a girl while never crossing the line—gave me comfort, excitement, and a deep sense of being cherished as a woman.

Also, he’s a good listener, spoils me, and gives me the words I want to hear. He wraps me up in kindness.

If I ever had to choose between my social standing and him, I’m sure I would choose him.

If there’s something more important than status, then I don’t want to hesitate and end up regretting it.

I finally found the boyfriend I’ve been looking for—the ideal boyfriend.